Memories
by C. Adrien Cummings
Summary: James Sirius/Teddy. 'Growling, I grabbed his hand and ran up the stairs, dragging him along behind me. I was done with waiting; I wanted action.' Now rated M for a reason. Be warned: fic contains explicit slash and a lot of fluffiness. Updated weekly-ish.
1. Prologue

**Dedication:** For flyingdaggers, who (in a rather hilarious way) requested a separate fic about these two lovely boys after reading the drabbles I wrote featuring them. I hope you enjoy this even more than you did those! :D

**Disclaimer:** The characters and settings used in this story belong to the illustrious J.K. Rowling. I may have taken slight liberties with their personalities and/or appearances, and I mean no harm whatsoever by doing so. No copyright infringement is intended and absolutely no money is being made by my writing this.

* * *

**Memories  
**(by C. Adrien Cummings)

* * *

**Prologue**

Hi there.

My name is James Sirius Potter, and my life began on my seventeenth birthday. Or well, okay . . . maybe that's being a _little_ too dramatic.

Truth is, I have _lots_ of great memories from growing up — playing with Teddy, flying with Teddy, swimming with Teddy, listening to Teddy read me bedtime stories when I was _really_ little, learning magic and pranks from Teddy when I was a bit older (much to my parents' chagrin) . . . have you noticed the common theme?

Anyway, out of _all_ my wonderful memories, one of my _favorites_ is from the night I came of age . . .

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_**To be continued . . .**_


	2. June 27, 2022

**Disclaimer:** The characters and settings used in this story belong to the illustrious J.K. Rowling. I may have taken slight liberties with their personalities and/or appearances, and I mean no harm whatsoever by doing so. No copyright infringement is intended and absolutely no money is being made by my writing this.

* * *

**Memories  
**(by C. Adrien Cummings)

* * *

**Chapter One — June 27, 2022**

Mum and Dad threw me a _huge_ party, inviting just about _everyone_ we knew. Mum's whole side of the family was there, of course, which alone meant we had a couple dozen people. And Teddy and his grandmother Andromeda were as close as family, so naturally they were among the first to arrive as well. Dad's friends from his days at Hogwarts and in the Auror Corps were all invited, and most dropped by for at least a little while; I'd seen most of them on a fairly regular basis growing up, so I knew them pretty well. And as you would expect, with it being _my_ party, all of _my_ friends from Hogwarts were in attendance: Kyle and his girlfriend Erica; Jon and _his_ girlfriend Katie; Alex, Jake, and Christian along with their significant others; the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team . . . it was quite the crew we had. Albus and Lily both got to invite a couple of their friends too, so they wouldn't be bored out of their minds. The most notable of that group was Al's boyfriend Scorpius, whose father even came in briefly to congratulate me, despite his history with my dad. That was a pleasant surprise, especially as he brought a gift, which turned out to be a very old and rare tome on Potions and their use in Transfiguration (my two favorite branches of magic, and the ones I hoped to find a career in).

Anyway, that entire day was a blast, as our house was overrun by better than a hundred people. It was late at night though, after most everyone had left, that Teddy came up to me and asked for a word in private. It would prove to be one of the most important conversations of my life . . .

Up in my bedroom, away from the noise of people cleaning up after the party, Teddy sighed heavily as he sat on my bed. I could tell that he was worried about something, but I had no idea what it could possibly be; Teddy was the most happy-go-lucky person I'd ever met!

"What's up, Ted?" I asked him concernedly. "It's not like you to be so serious."

That garnered a smile, at least, as he looked up and caught my eyes. "Yeah, I know," he said, "I'm just not sure what I'm doing . . ."

"What're you talking about?"

He sighed again. "James . . . there's something I want to say, and something I want to do, and I just don't know if I can. This is serious Gryffindor territory I'm trying to step into here, and that's not easy for a Hufflepuff like me."

I smiled at the House references, and then I tried to help him out. "Well," I said, "_I'm_ a Gryffindor. Maybe I can help."

"That's exactly what I'm hoping for," he said softly.

"All right then . . . what's up? You've got to tell me before I can do anything . . ."

"James, I . . ."

When he didn't continue after a few seconds, I walked over and sat down beside him. "Seriously, Ted . . . what's up? Please tell me."

He turned to me, but no smile came to his face when he caught my eyes this time. His own eyes — a deep purple that night — held an array of emotions unlike any I'd ever seen in them before. There was pain, doubt, and concern . . . three things the always confident older boy had never shown before. But the biggest surprise to me, because it was something I'd _wanted_ to see for at least a couple years at that point but never thought I would, was _desire_. I gasped.

"Thank Merlin you saw," he said, finally finding his voice again. "That makes this so much easier. Now, I _have_ to talk. James . . . I know we're practically family, but the fact that we're _not_ is actually a blessing." He took a deep breath and then continued. "I want to be so much more."

I was still in shock, but fortunately, he didn't assume anything by my silence; it would have been _horrible_ if he'd taken it to mean I was angry or disgusted or anything like that. A few seconds later, I finally managed to reply. "Teddy," I said, "are you absolutely certain you mean that?"

Looking a little confused by the question, he nodded nevertheless. "I'm positive."

At that, my face broke into a smile wider than any I'd given in response to the plethora of birthday wishes and gifts I'd gotten earlier in the day. This was _by far_ the best present I could have received. "I've wanted the same for at least a couple years now," I told him candidly. "I _never_ thought it could happen though. Like you said, I figured you considered me family."

"I do," he replied. "You and I are actually _closer_ than most family members are, but all the same, we're _not_ related by blood . . . which means that we're free to explore a different kind of relationship if you really want to."

"Oh I want to," I hastened to assure him.

His answering smile was absolutely brilliant, and it set something inside me ablaze. All of a sudden, I just _had_ to kiss him. Rather than jumping him though — there would be plenty of time for that later — I simply caught his eyes, which were practically glowing at that point, and leaned toward him. He leaned in too, and our eyes closed as our lips met in our first kiss. It was everything first kisses are supposed to be: soft, sweet, lingering . . . in a word, _perfect_.

Even though it only lasted ten or fifteen seconds and our mouths had remained closed the whole time, we were both gasping for breath when we pulled apart. I had kissed a few other people in the past — incidentally, all girls — and in each case there had been tongues involved and a great deal more time before coming up for air . . . and yet despite all that, I'd never experienced such breathlessness after a kiss as I was now.

"Mmmm . . ." I heard Teddy moan softly as he fell backward onto my bed, head landing dead-center on one of my pillows.

I chuckled. "You liked that then?" I asked cheekily.

He raised his head and mock-glared at me before laughing and letting it fall back to the pillow. "You could say that, I suppose."

"Good. So did I."

A minute later, he sat up. "So where does this leave us?" he asked seriously, before switching to a playful, girlish voice . . . "Will you be my boyfriend, James? Please, oh _please?_"

_That_ set me off. I started laughing so loud that I wouldn't have been surprised if Headmistress McGonagall heard me from all the way out at Hogwarts. As it was, everyone left in the house _did_ hear me, and their curiosity brought them all to my door.

Albus was the one to open it — not bothering to knock, of course . . . a habit that Teddy and I would eventually have a hand in breaking him of — but it was Lily who asked, "What has got you two laughing so hard?" Mum and Dad stood behind the two of them, with Ted's grandmum, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, Rose, and Hugo rounding out the group.

"Nothing Sis," I said, still trying to fight down the last of the giggles. Then, conspiratorially, I stage-whispered, "I'll tell you when you're older."

The adults all laughed at that point, Albus and Rose rolled their eyes, and Lily and Hugo looked a bit puzzled. Beside me, Teddy chuckled. "Seriously, everyone . . . it was nothing that bears repeating at the moment. We're sorry to have dragged you away from all the fun you were having downstairs."

Everyone groaned at the reminder of the cleaning they'd been doing, the four kids especially. In a sudden flash of utter brilliance, I called out, "Mum, Dad, Auntie Ann . . . can Teddy stay over tonight?"

"It's fine with us," my mum said after glancing at my dad and getting a quick nod in response. She turned to look at Teddy's grandmother and prompted, "Andy?"

Andromeda smiled, and as the grandfather clock in the hallway chimed midnight, she said, "Sounds good to me. I don't need him for anything tonight." The words were like music to my ears. My boyfriend — the guy I'd been longing for for a couple _years_, and who'd apparently wanted _me_ for at least as long — was going to sleep over . . . and my parents had no idea about our new relationship, so they wouldn't raise any objections to him sleeping in _my_ room (like he had every other time he'd stayed over) instead of in one of the guest rooms like Scorpius had to whenever he spent the night here. Even without knowing _exactly_ what would happen in the next few hours, I knew that that night would wind up being one of the best of my entire life.

I'm happy to tell you that I was right.

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_**To be continued . . .**_

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**Author's Note:** So what do you think so far? It this worth continuing? (I'll be continuing it no matter what you say, cuz I'm having fun, but I figured I'd ask anyway. :P) I hope you'll be back to read Chapter Two — June 28, 2022. It'll pick up _right_ where this one left off, and will earn this story its 'M' rating. ;)


	3. June 28, 2022

**Disclaimer:** The characters and settings used in this story belong to the illustrious J.K. Rowling. I may have taken slight liberties with their personalities and/or appearances, and I mean no harm whatsoever by doing so. No copyright infringement is intended and absolutely no money is being made by my writing this.

* * *

**Memories  
**(by C. Adrien Cummings)

* * *

**Chapter Two — June 28, 2022**

After everybody left to go back downstairs, I turned to Teddy with an enormous grin on my face and was very happy to see it reflected on his as well. "Come on," I said, "let's go help them for a bit. Then we can claim tiredness more legitimately and come back up here without risk of being interrupted."

Unsurprisingly, Teddy liked that idea . . . at least the last part of it. "All right, let's go," he said as he stood up.

I only let him get one step away before I stood up and grabbed his arm, spinning him back towards me and catching him in another kiss. This one was harder than our first, but I still kept my mouth closed, knowing that if we deepened it to include tongues, we'd never make it downstairs that night. After kissing him for just a few seconds, I pulled away and grinned at the slightly stupefied look on his face. Stepping around him, I walked to the door. "Well . . . what're you waiting for?" I asked smugly.

He shook his head in an attempt to regain his senses and turned to me with a mischievous smile. "You're going to pay for that later, James," he said in a low voice that promised that I'd _like_ whatever payment he demanded. Hearing his tone when he said that, I shivered. For the first time in my life, I was _eager_ to pay a debt I'd incurred.

Forcibly clearing the _wonderful_ mental pictures out of my head so that I could actually function, I smiled. "I look forward to it," I said simply. Then I walked out into the hall and headed toward the stairs. I heard Teddy right behind me, and as I got to the edge of the top step, I stopped and turned. After another quick kiss, I turned back around and went down the stairs to find my family.

In my plot to tease Teddy as much as I could before we found the others, I failed to consider one thing: _payback_, as the saying goes, _is a bitch_. Teddy — being seven years older and much more experienced in matters of relationships — knew a thing or two about surreptitious teasing. I thought I'd done well upstairs, but I learned a thing or two that night . . .

Some of the comments he whispered when he was close enough that only I could hear . . . well let's just say that there were several times that I had to shift my pants discretely to relieve a little tightness. Then there were all the little touches when everyone else's backs were turned: a soft pat or pinch of my ass; a ghosting brush of his fingers against the super-sensitive back of my neck; and most daringly, a hand laid on my thigh that then slipped between my legs briefly before disappearing again just as Albus turned around. I'm telling you . . . by the end of the hour we spent downstairs, my body was shaking with a need for release.

Walking hurriedly into the kitchen where the adults were talking, I informed them that we'd picked up the mess in the living room, were rather tired and were going to bed. After one more round of "Happy Birthday"s, I hugged Mum, Dad, and Aunt Hermione, got a firm handshake from Uncle Ron, and then turned and led Teddy out of the room and toward the stairs.

Once we were out of sight and hearing range, I turned and leveled a half-fake glare at my new boyfriend. His answering smirk was so damn sexy that any anger I may actually have felt vanished and was replaced by pure lust. I reached out and pulled him to me, kissing him soundly. He responded eagerly enough for a few seconds before pulling away and whispering, "Shouldn't we wait to do this 'til we're in your room behind a closed and warded door?"

Growling, I grabbed his hand and ran up the stairs, dragging him along behind me. I was done with waiting; I wanted _action_.

Teddy followed me into my room and closed the door behind him softly, waving his wand and muttering some incantation or other that set a ward to alert us if anyone tried to eavesdrop. An imperturbable charm followed that so that even if anyone _did_ try, they couldn't hear anything. Then, with those precautions in place, he turned around and walked over to my bed, where I was waiting for him.

He caught me by surprise when he reached out and pushed me back so that I fell onto the soft mattress. I looked up at him, wondering why he was still standing instead of joining me, and wound up staring wide-eyed as he slowly — _tantalizingly_ slowly — pulled his shirt up and over his head.

I'd seen Teddy shirtless before; both when swimming and when he'd come back to my room after taking a shower during past times he'd spent the night at my house. In one instance of the latter, I'd even seen him _naked_, though only his backside. His towel had slipped off just as I was leaving to get my own shower, but unfortunately he was turned away.

Now that he was standing before me, I hoped that I would finally get to see the rest of him . . . and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed. But before I get to that part, there are a couple other moments worth mentioning . . .

"Teddy . . ." I whispered breathlessly, staring at the _gorgeous_ body of my almost-cousin. He merely smirked in response, and that sexy little grin did me in. "Get up here," I demanded, sliding myself back further onto the bed and beckoning him to join me.

And join me he did. Slowly and alluringly, causing my breathing to become even more staccato than it already was, he crawled onto the bed and up next to where I lay. He didn't stay _next_ to me for long, however, opting instead to move so that he was straddling my legs. I moaned as he gently lay down on top of me and I felt how hard he already was. He hadn't been kidding about wanting me!

"_Merlin_ James!" he gasped as he felt my own erection pressing up against his. Our hips both bucked into each other without any conscious command on our parts; our bodies apparently knew what they wanted and were running on autopilot. Neither of us was complaining.

Unable to wait any longer, I curled my hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down into a searing kiss. He responded instantly, his tongue delving into my mouth and twining with my own. This was nothing like the kisses we'd shared earlier; where those had been soft and sweet, _this_ was hot and demanding. Our teeth clacked together a few times as we practically tried to devour one another. And all the while, our hips continued to thrust, grinding our cocks together and creating the most delicious friction, even through our jeans.

Soon, though, even _that_ wasn't enough. My hand shot down between our bodies to cup his cock through his pants. "I want to feel you," I managed to say when we broke our kiss to breathe.

"Mmmm . . ." he moaned in reply, rolling off of me and onto his side, giving me much easier access to his luscious body. His own hand slid between my legs to fondle _my_ cock as my fingers worked to unbutton his jeans. "Wait," he said suddenly. He must have noticed the worried look that flashed immediately across my face at that word, because he hastened to add, "Let's get your shirt off first."

I let out the breath I'd been holding, and he smirked. "Shut up," I chastened him with a little chuckle. "Like you wouldn't have done the same thing if _I'd_ suddenly told _you_ to 'wait'."

Teddy grinned sheepishly. "Yes, well . . . let's just get your shirt off." He reached for my waist, grabbing the hem of my shirt as I sat up. With a predatory gleam in his eyes, he lifted it up and off, tossing it to the floor next to where his lay. "_Merlin_ you're beautiful," he said, gazing longingly at my half-naked body.

"You've seen me like this before," I reminded him.

"I've seen you _without a shirt on_ before, yes. But _this_ is different."

"How so?" I asked curiously.

"Back then, I was limited to sneaking quick glances when you weren't looking. _Now_, I can stare openly and truly appreciate just how sexy you are." His eyes traced from my face down my neck and chest to my stomach and then back up until he met my eyes. "Oh yes," he said, "_this_ time is _much_ different."

I couldn't help it; I shivered visibly at the tone of his voice. He sounded _ravenous_, and that paired with the look in his eyes told me that I was to be his next meal. I don't think any prey had ever been more willing to be devoured. "_Fuck_, Teddy . . ." I whimpered. "Do you have _any_ idea what you're doing to me?"

Teddy licked his lips. "About the same thing you're doing to me, I reckon."

"_Ohhhh_ . . ." I groaned, losing all semblance of control in my desperation to feel his hands on me, his lips plying my own, his body flush against mine. My arms shot out around him and pulled him to me, pressing our naked chests together. The first instant of skin-on-skin contact shocked us both, I think. _My_ body, at least, tingled as though a strong electric current were coursing through it. The look of surprise on his face — registered just before our lips crashed together once more — suggested that he felt pretty much the same thing.

Rather than breaking apart however — which was absolutely _unthinkable_ at that point — we clung tighter together, hands clutching at one another's back in an attempt to pull each other even _closer_. "Holy _fuck!!_" Teddy exclaimed when we broke for air. I murmured my agreement and roughly pulled him back in for another kiss.

We tumbled back down so we were laying side-by-side on the mattress again, still holding each other tightly. Our hands began to roam across each other's bare skin, reveling in the silkiness of it. I shivered as his fingers caressed the small of my back and then inched beneath the waistband of my jeans and boxers. "_Oh Merlin, Teddy_ . . ." I gasped.

He groaned in reply, and pulled his hand back out and around to my front, where his fingers nimbly proceeded to undo the button and fly of my pants. Once they were loosened, he began to pull them down off my hips; I lifted myself off the mattress enough for him to slip them down and then remove them completely, leaving me clad only in my boxers.

I let my body fall back down onto the bed, and though I was _dying_ for him to snake his fingers back under the waistband of my boxers and touch me for real, I caught his hands and stopped him as he reached for me. He looked at me with a very puzzled expression, until I explained, "I want your pants off too."

As I let go of his hands and reached toward the button of his jeans, however, he backed away. I gave a huff of disappointment, but he merely grinned and slid off the bed to stand beside it. Once he was standing, he began slowly unfastening and then removing his own pants while I looked on in awe. And then when he was in the same state of undress as I was — with just a pair of silk boxers remaining — he climbed back up onto the bed and lay down beside me once more.

Our hands were much more methodical in their exploration this time around, considering how much more skin was now revealed. My fingers slowly traced along his legs and then up and all across his back. They worked their way to the back of his neck and into his hair, where they toyed with the silky soft tendrils before clenching and pulling him toward me.

While we kissed, his own fingers were teasingly dancing along my inner thighs, touching every bit of exposed skin they could before he brought his hand up and _finally_ cupped my cock. I moaned into his mouth as he squeezed the incredibly hard column of flesh between my legs, stroking it a couple of times before sliding his hand up to, and then under, the waistband of my boxers.

There are no words to describe the feeling of his fingers wrapping around the bare flesh of my cock for the first time. It was undoubtedly _the_ _most_ amazing pleasure I'd ever felt. My hips bucked of their own accord, and I both heard and felt Teddy chuckle at my eagerness. I wanted to touch _him_ like that so he could see exactly _why_ I was reacting like a wanton little whore, but unfortunately, my body simply was not under my own control at that point.

The angle his wrist had to bend at to touch me inside my boxers must have been uncomfortable, however, because after only a minute or so of stroking me, he pulled his hand away. I made an embarrassing noise of protest, which earned an enormous smile from Teddy. "Take it easy," he said, laughing lightly. "I just want your boxers off entirely. It'll be easier that way, and will feel even _better_ . . ."

Well if _that_ didn't get me to move at that point, _nothing_ would! I was off the bed in a heartbeat, hooking my thumbs inside the waistband of my black silk boxers and pushing them down over my hips, freeing my throbbing cock. Looking back, I'm surprised I wasn't supremely self-conscious standing there completely naked, but at the time, there was simply no time to waste being modest. I was back on the bed a second later, sidling up to him as best I could.

Now that he hadn't touched me in a minute or so, I had regained at least partial control of my body. Before he could reach for me again, my hand shot to his waist, where I began to tug at his boxers. It simply wasn't fair for me to be the only one naked!

I was shocked to see the ever-confident Teddy Lupin lose a tiny bit of his composure, as though he were nervous about being naked with me. "What's up, Ted?" I asked.

That seemed to bring him back to his usual self. "Absolutely nothing," he said, smiling widely at me. Then he pushed his own silk boxers (his were red) down his legs and kicked them off, letting them land wherever they would.

I gaped. His cock was _huge!_ I'd been damn proud of my seven inches before I saw him; he had to have been past eight and closer to nine!

"Hey . . ." he said softly, drawing my attention (very hesitantly) away from his dick and up to his face.

"Yeah?" I whispered breathlessly.

"It's not polite to stare."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Polite or not, I don't think there's _anything_ that could stop me looking at you."

Teddy actually blushed at that, before once more regaining his usual composure and smirking. "Bet I can come up with something . . ." he said.

"Oh?"

And then he launched himself at me, pinning me to the mattress and leaning down to kiss the breath out of me. I moaned into his mouth as our tongues twined and then again much louder when he lowered the rest of his body to lay on mine.

Our cocks rubbed against one another, sending the most delicious sensations tingling throughout my body. For five full minutes we lay like that, holding each other tightly, kissing as though our very _lives_ depended on it, and grinding our hips together and reveling in the friction created.

He'd been right; he _had_ found a way to keep me from staring at him. Nevertheless, I _did_ want to see him again, to watch his face while I touched him. With that goal in mind, I pushed him gently off of me, rolling him onto his side. At his puzzled look, I explained. "I want to touch you. I want to make you come. And I want to watch you while I do it."

His breathing grew more ragged with each sentence I spoke, until he was practically _panting_ at the end. Incapable of speaking, he merely nodded his agreement.

My hand moved _slowly_ toward his body, coming to rest on his hip before sliding down to grasp his impressive length. The sharp intake of breath was music to my ears, and the way his eyes snapped shut in concentration brought a devilish grin to my face. "Teddy . . ." I whispered. "Look at me . . ."

Teddy opened his eyes — which were now sparkling — and the look in them practically melted me. It was desire, pure and _very_ strong. I leaned in to kiss him gently once as I started moving my hand, stroking him softly at first before building speed. After that kiss, I pulled back away from him so that I could watch his facial expressions to determine what felt best for him. With long strokes ranging from the base to the very tip, I jerked him off, adding a little squeeze here and there and garnering the sexiest noises I'd ever heard.

Staring into his eyes, I could actually _see_ his orgasm approaching a couple minutes later. About fifteen seconds after I saw the glimmer of it there, I felt the tremors start in his body. Five seconds after that, he exploded all over himself, my hand, and the bed. And the look on his face _then_ . . . well I knew _that_ would give me wank material for a very, _very_ long time!

I continued to stroke him gently, and his body continued to shake as the cum kept spurting out of him, in much smaller doses with every additional spasm beyond the first few. Watching him come was without a doubt the hottest thing I'd ever seen.

"_Fuck_, Teddy . . ." I moaned. "Do you have _any_ idea how hot that was?"

He didn't answer me for a little while, needing to catch his breath first. When he _had_, he said, "Not offhand, no . . . but I intend to find out very soon." And with that, he reached out for my cock, which was as hard as it had ever been.

"Oh _fuck!_" I screamed at the sudden pleasure. I distantly recognized the sound of him chuckling, but it was largely muted by the rushing torrents of pure _bliss_ that were coursing through me like a tidal wave at his touch. His fingers gently teased my balls and then wrapped delicately around my shaft, squeezing once and then stroking it from root to tip. I'm pretty sure I whimpered pathetically at that, but once again, the sound was pretty well muted in my ears.

My eyes were squeezed closed much as his had been, as I tried desperately to hold onto enough control _not_ to come instantly. I failed pretty spectacularly.

Within a minute of him beginning to jerk me off, my balls were tightening and my body started to tremble. If it hadn't felt so damn _good_, I'd've been embarrassed about coming so soon . . . but in all honesty, my mind was too far gone with pleasure to think anything of it.

I felt my cock pulsing in his tight grip, undoubtedly coating his hand with my cum just as he'd coated mine with his. When my orgasm faded, I opened my eyes to see Teddy staring straight back at me. He licked his lips. "_Wow_ . . ."

The blush that spread across my face at the look of adoration and unmitigated desire that he was giving me was inevitable. I'd never been the recipient of such a stare, and I found that I _really_ liked it. "Mmmm . . ." I agreed. "'Wow' sums it up nicely."

He looked down to where his hand was still wrapped around my dick, glistening with my cum, and a sweet smile crossed his face. With his other hand, he reached for his wand, which he'd left lying beside him on the bed. A muttered incantation and quick swish later, the slippery stickiness was gone from both our bodies and our surroundings.

"Thanks," I said seriously.

"My pleasure," he quipped.

I laughed. "Mine too, y'know."

"Good. Now how about some sleep?"

"Mmmm . . ." I moaned. "Sleep sounds wonderful." And with that, I slid myself over beside him and then rolled onto my side.

He rolled over behind me and threw an arm over my torso, pulling me back into him and holding me there as we began to doze.

"Teddy?"

"Yeah?" he prompted groggily.

"That was the best birthday present I ever got."

His body shook as he laughed. "Well good. I'll have to find some way to trump it next year huh?"

I shivered as I thought of the possibilities. "That sounds _very_ good to me!"

Again, he chuckled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it," he whispered. "Have sweet dreams, ok babe?"

I smiled at the term of endearment. "You know it. You too."

"Couldn't possibly have anything but, after that."

"Mmhmm," I agreed, nestling myself even further back into his arms. "Goodnight, Teddy."

He squeezed me gently. "'Night, James."

And then we slept.

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_**To be continued . . .**_

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**Author's Note:** Well there you have it, folks. This is, of course, only _one_ of the scenes that will justify the M rating I've given this fic . . . and honestly, it's almost _certainly_ the tamest of them. Hehe! I hope you enjoyed it! :) I seem incapable of writing short sex scenes, but I've yet to have anyone complain about that, so I see no reason to try to. :P Thank you all for the incredible reviews you've given me for this fic; I'm dying to see what you all think of this chapter! A brief (drabble) Interlude as well as Chapter Three — August 31, 2022 should be up in about a week. 'Til then, I hope you all have a _wonderful_ time celebrating whatever holiday you observe! :D


	4. Interlude 1

**Disclaimer:** The characters and settings used in this story belong to the illustrious J.K. Rowling. I may have taken slight liberties with their personalities and/or appearances, and I mean no harm whatsoever by doing so. No copyright infringement is intended and absolutely no money is being made by my writing this.

* * *

**Memories  
**(by C. Adrien Cummings)

* * *

**Interlude 1**

Hi. James again. Welcome back.

Enjoy that first bit? Good.

After that night, Teddy and I were even _more_ inseparable. He was over just as often as he could be, and when he wasn't at my house, I was more often than not at his. That wasn't _too_ out of the ordinary; he'd been my best friend since I was a baby, after all. We just had extra reasons for wanting to spend time together now.

There are plenty of other memories I could relate if you want to hear about them . . . like the night of August 31 that year . . .

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_**To be continued . . .**_


	5. August 31, 2022

**Disclaimer:** The characters and settings used in this story belong to the illustrious J.K. Rowling. I may have taken slight liberties with their personalities and/or appearances, and I mean no harm whatsoever by doing so. No copyright infringement is intended and absolutely no money is being made by my writing this.

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**Memories  
**(by C. Adrien Cummings)

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**Chapter Three — August 31, 2022**

Every year since his own graduation, Teddy spent the night before the start of term ('Hogwarts Eve' as we called it) at our house. For the first six years of that tradition, it was always a night of good, clean fun. That year though . . . well let's just say that the '_good_' and '_fun_' parts of that description still applied at least . . .

The _first_ part of the night was clean enough, as we spent it downstairs with Mum, Dad, Al, and Lily. As always, it was a great deal of fun, most of it spent playing a multitude of board games. Pretty much everyone's favorite was Wizard's Stratego — Battle of Hogwarts Edition. Dad, of course, was mortified that his picture was on the 10 piece for the Light side; he never _did_ get over his hatred of his fame. Good ol' Tommy-Boy was, of course, the 10 of the Dark side. The various Order and D.A. members rounded out the good guys, while the Death Eaters made up the bad. Everyone's number except the 10s was changeable, so that whoever was playing could make their relatives or friends (or _themselves_, in some people's cases) be the high-ranked pieces, allowing them to win virtually all of their in-game battles. All in all, it was a wonderful variation of the game, especially as the pieces actually _did_ battle when they met on the board. Tiny flashes of spell light shot between them for anywhere from a few seconds up to almost a minute, depending on how evenly matched the combatants were, before the appropriate piece won. It was always fun to watch the various people I knew wiping the board with the likes of Bellatrix, Dolohov, Macnair, and Greyback (who were always given the lowest rankings among the Dark side pieces, just so we could laugh as they lost); Teddy especially loved seeing his mum take out the Death Eaters. Of course we _all_ loved seeing the good guys triumph, and always had to draw straws to see who'd play as the Dark forces. That person would inevitably throw the game — couldn't have the bad guys _win_, after all — but it was a hell of a lot of fun even without it being a true competition.

Anyway, between that and all the other games we had around the house, we kept ourselves busy from dinnertime up 'til around eleven o'clock. At that point, Mum and Dad sent us all to bed, knowing that the morning would be an early one in order to get us all ready and to King's Cross in time to catch the Express.

Lily didn't argue, as she usually went to bed around that time anyway. Albus made his standard half-hearted complaints, but shuffled off up the stairs all the same. Teddy stayed silent since he was a guest, but I made sure to fake my own objections well enough to keep my parents from suspecting anything about Teddy's and my relationship.

"You guys can stay up a bit if you want," my dad relented, "but it'll have to be in your room, and you'll have to soundproof it properly. Your mum and I are going to bed as well, and I won't have you keeping us _or_ your brother and sister awake with your laughter and whatnot. Take Stratego or whatever games you want. Just remove the spells from your door before you go to sleep so that we can wake you in time to get going in the morning. I won't have you missing the train on the first day of your final year."

It took all my effort and concentration not to grin like a lunatic and give anything away about Teddy and me. _Carefully_ schooling my expressions and voice to show only the expected amount of gratitude, I said, "Thanks Dad. We won't stay up _too_ late. I don't want to be late tomorrow any more than you do." Then, after a quick hug and kiss from my mum, I grabbed the Stratego box and turned toward the stairs. I highly doubted we'd actually play the game, but we had to take _something_ to avoid suspicion, and that was the thing nearest to me.

"Goodnight Mum and Dad," I said as I walked to the stairs with Teddy following me.

"Yeah, goodnight Uncle Harry and Auntie Gin," Teddy offered.

"'Night boys," they called after us. And just like that, we were alone.

"Did your dad _really_ just tell us to go to your room and cast privacy spells?" Teddy whispered once we were around the corner.

I nodded. Honestly, I was just as surprised as he was. Even though I knew he had no clue about Teddy and me, I still hadn't expected _that_.

"Do you think he knows and is okay with us?"

That time I shook my head. "No way does he know. If he did, you'd be in the guest room like Scorpius always is when he spends the night here. Dad once told Al, Lily, and me in no uncertain terms that while he can't stop us from doing whatever we want with our significant others while we're at Hogwarts or at their houses, he _won't_ have us having sex under his roof."

"Fair enough," Teddy said simply. "I just wondered because it seemed almost _too_ perfect to be just a coincidence."

"I know what you mean, but it really _is_ just a coincidence. A wonderful, _wonderful_ coincidence."

He laughed. "Come on then. Let's head up."

Once we were upstairs, we opted to get ready for bed before anything else. I changed into my pyjamas while he used the loo, and then we switched off. When I got back to the room and closed the door, Teddy cast the appropriate charms to keep any and all noise we made from getting out and disrupting (or alerting) people.

Unable to wait any longer, I strode over to him and drew him into a deep kiss. To my puzzlement and disappointment, he only kissed me back for a few seconds before pulling away.

"As much as I hate to suggest this — because I want _nothing_ more than to snog the hell out of you right now — do you think we ought to wait a little bit, 'til your parents are likely asleep? You know . . . just in case?"

I sighed. I knew he was right, loath as I was to admit it. "Yeah . . ." I muttered. "We probably should. The last thing we need is for one of them to come up here to say something they forgot when we were downstairs only to find us snogging each other senseless."

"Or worse . . ." he said, with that mischievous glint in his eye that I'd so come to love.

At that I whimpered. Now I _really_ didn't want to wait!

"Don't fret, babe," he said. "In just a little while, you're _mine_." I gulped, and he chuckled before saying, "In the meantime, though, how about a game?" He waved toward the Stratego box.

"Sure," I agreed. "Why not?"

"That's the spirit!" he exclaimed, before rewarding me with another kiss. Pulling away after only a few seconds again, he smirked. "And if you behave, there'll be _much_ more of that later."

"Behave?"

"Mmhmm . . ." he answered cryptically.

I shrugged and opened the game box. Knowing how much he loved playing as the good guys, I offered, "I'll take the Dark side."

His smile made the concession worth it. His _words_ made it even _more_ so. "And I didn't even have to _ask_ . . . you're behaving _very_ well already." He winked.

My stomach fluttered. "You know it," I said somewhat breathlessly. It was a little scary sometimes how much a few words and a tiny gesture from him could affect me. _Brilliant_, but scary. Teddy laughed and kissed me once more.

We started playing a few minutes later, and the game took almost forty-five minutes to finish. We agreed that my parents were almost certainly asleep by then, but Teddy suggested we hold off our snogging session just a _little_ bit longer. "I have an idea . . ." he said conspiratorially.

"Oh?"

"Ever played strip poker before?"

Images of him slowly removing his clothing piece by piece after each losing hand shot through my head, and I smiled. "No," I told him honestly. "But I'd _love_ to."

Again, his smile made me shiver in anticipation. "You have a deck of cards in here, I hope?"

"Sure do," I said with a smirk of my own. "I'll get 'em." And with that, I stood and walked over to my desk, digging through one of the drawers until I came up with my deck of Playwitch playing cards. Albus had given them to me a couple years ago for Christmas. I'd gotten a deck of them for him after he'd come out and begun dating Scorpius; the following year, he gave _me_ a deck of them as a gag gift. I'd been dating a girl at the time, so he figured it'd be a laugh to get _me_ cards with naked _guys_ on them. To that day, he still didn't know how much I actually liked those cards.

"Whoa!" Teddy said as he picked up his hand after I'd dealt the first round.

I laughed. "Yeah, I've yet to properly thank Al for those. He meant them to be a joke gift, and I had to play along. Someday, though, I'll have to tell him just how much I like 'em."

Teddy laughed. "I bet you do!"

"Admittedly they're _nothing_ compared to _you_ . . ."

"Well now," he said, flashing me his sexiest grin. "You're really racking up the good behavior points, aren't you?"

"Your comment earlier seemed to imply that it'd be worth my while," I replied.

"Oh it will," he promised. "It most definitely will. Now let's play . . ."

To make the game last at least a _few_ minutes, we agreed to put our clothes back on over our pyjamas. When we finally sat down to play, the first hand went to him, and I lost my socks. I took the second hand, and he lost his. Then _somehow_ he managed to win three in a row, and I shed my pants, shirt, and pyjama top. Down to just a pair of silk pyjama bottoms, I was torn between wanting to win and wanting to throw the next hand so that we could get down to business.

My competitive nature won out, and between that and a bit of luck with the cards, I had him down to a similar state of undress a few minutes later. As he dealt the hand that would decide the winner, I couldn't help but want _badly_ to win so that I could watch him shimmy out of the last of his coverings. But then . . .

"Remember what I said earlier about behaving, James?" he asked with another wink.

And as much as I wanted a bit of a strip tease from him, I knew it would be well worth my while to throw the hand. Picking up my cards, I groaned internally as I saw that he'd dealt me a king-high flush. It figures I'd have an almost guaranteed win the _one_ time I couldn't _afford_ to win. Acting nonchalant, I took the three highest cards in my hand and threw them aside. "I need three," I told him, and I swear a glimmer of surprise flashed in his eyes, followed instantly by a flash of desire. Both were gone within a second, however, and he calmly handed me three new cards and took two for himself.

"Doesn't look good for me," I said, laying down my cards. "Just a pair of fives."

"It looks _very_ good for you," he contradicted me. "I've got three nines, so I win the hand . . . but you've got one _hell_ of a reward coming as soon as you get those pants off . . ."

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_**To be continued . . .**_

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**Author's Note:** Hehe! I _do_ so love leaving fun cliffhangers for you all. :P This chapter is a birthday present for screamxheart. I'm sorry it couldn't have been a smutty chapter for you, but for what it's worth, the _next_ one most certainly will be. Tune in again in a week or so for Chapter Four — September 1, 2022. If you thought the June 28, 2022 chapter was hot, you ain't seen nothin' yet! ;)


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